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In Gallery 1 Young Arnolfini explore How is the city changing? Where do we stand? Can we create a space for dialogue and conversation?

Young Arnolfini have created a changing space for conversation using everyday materials and each other’s skills. Taking ideas from architectural design they have built furniture and have made fabric walls to alter the way we see and move through space. Moveable and changeable; this is not a new room, but a place that can be repeated and adapted throughout the city.

Circling the gallery is a series of photographs capturing collective actions; tracing imaginary buildings, wearing each other’s thoughts and making proposals. These images not only explore the physical world but also how a space can make us feel, considering both overlooked histories and what the future might be. During this exhibition Young Arnolfini will continue to create new improvisations inside and outside of the gallery.

Alongside the images are texts, thoughts and daily fragments of speech that make up an expanded dialogue about the city we live in. Inspired by the notes we write on our phones and the questions that pop up whilst walking, these texts provide starting points for deeper discussions about our daily lives.

The project does not build a stage out of bricks or concrete, but builds a shared platform of support. The show itself should not be seen as an endpoint, but as an invitation to contribute to the ever-changing discussion of what it means to inhabit a city together.

This exhibition, taking place in Gallery One, represents the first major presentation of Inhabit, a new project by Young Arnolfini, looking at how we can work together to discuss the past, present and future of our city. 

Events

Conversation Event: Sunday 31 July 12-3pm. Free

Please join Young Arnolfini, alongside Yelena Gregg-Weekes, Georgette Mrakadeh Keane and Charlie Rawson as they discover the future of Bristol.

Bring a dish: Wednesday 3 August – 6-7.30pm. Free

Please join Young Arnolfini in the gallery as we have dinner and chat together. Please bring something for yourself to eat, along with anything you would like to share. Do not worry if you don’t have time to make anything specific, just come along. 

Draw in the space: Thursday 4 August – 2-4.30pm. Free

Please join us in the gallery for an open drawing session, responding to the themes of the show. 

Collaborative, ambitious, experimental, individual, involved, driven: Young Arnolfini are a collective of artists aged 16 – 25 working, learning and living in Bristol.

Join in the conversation using #youngarnolfini #Inhabit